Sick
by A Schoolday
Summary: School isn't cool for anyone, especially when you've only been human for a while. Jerlita oldfic "remastered" and uploaded from the vault


"Ieehk!" Spat Elisabeth Delmas, otherwise known royal shrew 'Sissi'. Sitting across her two foot-soldiers at the lunch table, there were four ears subjected to the complaining about to be conceived. She went on and on about how the ham beast cafeteria lady had possession of a large supply bag of premium dog food curled up next to the sack of flour. Many lined up to the serving bar to confirm this outrageous assumption. No clear feedback was leaked in the lunchroom. The only 'feedback' of any kind was from Odd Della Robia as he and his group passes by Sissi's table.

"Looks like Rosa got a special just for you."

"Are you calling me a dog, pea brain?" Sissi can feel a vein grow thicker on her colossal forehead.

"Yeah 'cause you're a real bitch!" Odd said as loudly as necessary for the whole cafeteria to hear the punchline. Of course half the people around who heard were stirred up in a maelstrom of laughter all the way to their seats. All including himself and his surrounding friends, but not including Aelita who didn't understand what the joke was supposed to be. She smiles nether the less. This left Sissi turning red with both anger and chagrin. Herve and Nicholas chuckled in restraint betrayal. Herve feigns a cough to disguise it while the lesser intelligent boy does nothing. They watch as Jeremie's group strays away to a different table, again not including Aelita who just watched them leave. Having the vocabulary range of a computer, she never really understood her more huma-, savvy friends' way of speaking at times.

It was embarrassing to ask but she wanted to be in on the joke, "I don't get it."

"Me neither, your friends are nothing but - huh?" Sissi examines Aelita's empty gaze. Wondering, how can the smartest girl in school be such a space case. As hilariously cruel as the thought was this needed to be exploited for her own laughs. If for no other reason then for revenge.

"Well it's our dear lunch lady's last name of course, Rosa Bitch!" As she spoke Herb and Nicholas could only gasp with each word. When Aelita left the table Sissi faced them with a look of smug triumph.

"That's a little harsh don't you think?" Herve sweat furiously.

Nicholas scratched something out of his ear with his pinky. "Yeah she's from Canada, remember? They're not as smart as us and their milk comes in bags."

The ring leader could only watch see her scheme come to fruition.

Ms. Petitjean piled a hill of meatballs on Odd's tray and ultimately refused to add more when he sweet talked for it. He began to haggle for it instead, which also lead to nothing. He finally just begs by declaring how he was starving and the only thing that can save him was more meatballs. She dismissed him; crestfallen, he leaves to find his friends' table. Next was Aelita who dragged her empty tray over after skipping over side dishes.

"Alright skinny-minnie! We got meatballs, sausages or eggplant. What it'll be?" Rosa wields her tongs in preparation with a pleasant smile that was to be expected. Expectedly brief.

Aelita smiles back and asks, "I'll have the meatballs too, Ms. Bitch."

Bless Rosa Petitjean's soul as she just drops her thongs into the vat of sauce. Affable little Aelita just innocently awaits her lunch. Not paying mind to Sissi cackling from afar.

* * *

"Aw relax Aelita." Odd pats her back. "That's nothing compared to what Yumi called Jim two weeks ago"

Yumi crossed her arms over her chest. "Hey I didn't realize he was behind me, okay."

When Aelita lifted her head the space above her eyebrows was left pale red from having her face buried in the hard surface of the lunch table. "You don't understand, I may never be able to speak to the lunch lady ever again."

"What!? No more meatballs and French fries ever again!? Aelita no!" Odd's rubbing turned into a violent grab before shaking some sense into her. Ulrich tells him to cut it out as he slouches in his seating on the bench rather blasé.

"Jeremie," She said sadly to him, "you're going to have to bring me my lunch for now on."

"What? No, don't be silly." Jeremie saw her make a gesture but he couldn't decipher it at first. The rest of the group however could. First Yumi just calmly yet quickly redirects herself outdoors without a word to be said.

Ulrich preened himself before following after her, made impossible by Odd snagging his shirt collar, "Hey wait- don't you want to help me get that dog food?" Odd pulled him along as he walked.

"No way. You want me to get in trouble again?" but Ulrich didn't struggle. "C'mon I need to stock up food for Kiwi!"

They were out of sight at last. Aelita and Jeremie were alone together. But it doesn't opens Aelita to speak. It doesn't open her to admits her troubles with adapting to earth. It doesn't open her to say that these new customs while not so alien as they were hard to remember. Every mistake made her feel more out of place each day as the waif she thinks of herself as; from info dumping every detail on the mechanisms of a calculator when Nicholas simply asks her how to clear the screen to really concerning behavior like testing to see if the windows of the school building worked in the same way as network windows.

Instead she drops the question, "I think I should go back to living on Lyoko."

Jeremie's glasses got crooked when he tilts his head back. "Absolutely not! All because she called the lunch lady a...'the b word'? P-please reconsider!"

"It's not that," Aelita admits shaking her head, "Your world was really wonderful when I first got here. But the more I stay the more I feel like I don't belong. Not to mention those awful nightmares I keep getting."

"But..." Jeremie wrapped his head for something to say, "aren't having nightmares worth being able to sleep?"

"What do you mean?"

"Listen, you said one time how wonderful it is to be alive right? All your problems here are just linked to school and take it from a top class man, nobody likes school. It's my fault too, I should have talked more about being a Kadic student than just focussing on being human. I promise to teach you everything you need to know." Aelita blushes after taking notice to the fact that Jeremie was a bit of a close talker. His face was a mere few inches away from being cheek on cheek which was oddly more desirable rather than uncomfortable. She nods to affirm a change of heart cautiously as to knock her head into his, Disputes between these two never lasted long. A byproduct of the rapport they shared.

"I love you, Jeremie." Aelita puts her hands on his.

"W-huh?" His blood zoomed to his entire face.

"Well? Isn't that a good thing to say, I used it in the right context didn't I?" Her thumb cuddled his.

"I mean, yeah but...I..." Jeremie's thumb timidly taps hers back due to his untamable fidgeting. Aelita frowned from reading his eyes, he seemed to have abandoned his mind for once. Will he ever get it back again?

He smiled and mutters, "I love you too, Aelita." Yes.


End file.
